EXPORT OF APPLES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 22 November 1922, Page 8

EXPORT OF APPLES

LAST SEASON’S SHIPMENTS DEPARTMENTAL REPORT Following arc extracts from _ report received from the High Commissioner for New Zealand, .London, on 1922 fruit shipments from New Zealand: — Peshawar.—This steamer arrived three or four days ahead of her scheduled time, but the fruit was not in the same condition as that of the Westmoreland, coiiscouently prices were a little lower. Iho wasty and shrivelled appearance of certain kinds, such as Jonathans and Delicious is inexplicable, but from enquiries made it would appear as. though the find was picked too immature. As, however, the prices realised were from 10'- to 18/- per case, it naturally follows that, considering the amount of opposition Now Zealand fruit had from .Australian at this time, the fruit was well up to standard and the reports regarding the warty appearance were evidently not universal. Some of the Ribstons were also reported to he too immature, and the prices of 12/- to 14/- per case were, no doubt,, caused by the retailer having to dispose of the fruit immediately he had purchased it from Covent Garden. Wangavatta,—As you will note from my produce cabin of’ the 6th May, the Wangaral'ta was in port four days before she commenced discharging fruit and then had to meet heavy competition from both Australian as well as Canadian and American consignments. Cleopatras showed brown or watery core and, in several instances, the Commission Agent bad cases of these returned to him on account of' this defect. Opportunity was taken of the presence in London of a well-known Tasmanian fruitgrower to discuss the question with 'him. and several affected apples were' placed , before him. Ho himself had found that both does, and London Pippins were affected with brown core and was of the opinion that this was the result of sending immature fruit long distances. Opinions of the consignees varied very much, however, and as the trouble was very prevalent in Tasmanian fruit, the O.F.F. communicated with the Food Investigation Board, and the latter arranged to oxaxamine and report scientifically on one or two very had lots. The Department el so mentioned the matter to Dr Down,nth. one of the members of the Food Investigation Board, and elicited the opinion that the trouble was due to the suffocation of the fruit by CO2 exhaled into the chambers and allowed to accumulate. The matter is being "one into fully anr] mv Department are keeping in rlose 'touch with all concerned. and it is probable that concerted action will be taken to trace (he cause and indicate remedies.’-' I will write you further on this subject as soon as anything definite emerges. Athonic.—Tins sbinment was generallv in a good condition, but shrivelled fruit was noticeable in several instances. The reports received, however, from the various salesmen were, with one exception, good, but attention was drawn to the following varieties Delicious and Premier which were badly frosted. Cleopatras which had the same disease as the Wangavatta shipment, and TTing Davids which wore also badly frosted.

Port Bowen.—The out-turn of the fruit ex this vessel was reported good and realised fair average prices. Australian fruit discharges during this period were very heavy''ami the prices obtained for New Zealand kinds were very much higher than those for similar fruit from Australia. Zealandic.—The cargo cx this vessel turned out in a very poor condition, and, In several instances, fruit was returned to the brokers on account of the very shrivelled and wasty condition. Such varieties as Jonathans, Delicious and London Pippins have met with a very poor rtceptiou and it is very difficult for the brokers to be able to keep up the good name of New Zealand fruit when shipments of such early varieties are sent over so late. There is, however, no reason why the above mentioned kinds should not, providing they are properly treated in New Zealand, reach this market in the same condition ■as American fruit which was picked last year, but from observation it would appear as Though it is necessary to keep Jonathans and Delicious in a cool store until shipment. The prices realised for Jonathans and other early New Zealand fruit will, no doubt, bo the cause of some of the shippers asking why the fruit has met with such a poor demand, but as the condition was so bad as well as signs of ®hrivel and waste being so apparent, it is not to ue expected that the retailer in this country will pay decent prices for such fruit. It must also be taken into consideration that the English' fruiterer purchases at this time of the year colonial apples for storage purposes, so as to have a stock of hard fruit available when the English soft fruits are out of (season. This is especially the case with the Simmers, as these apples are considered by the retailers as being an excellent keeping variety. However, on opening up the cases in the warehouse, ex this steamer, it was observed that such a course as indicated above would he impossible, and instead of being able to dispose of the fruit at a high price, i.e., 17/-, the brokers were forced to accept whatever was offered. The effect of this trouble was noticeable in the fruit consigned to Messrs Geo. Monro and J. Bradnum, who, anticipating that the Stumers ex the Zealandic would open up with the same regularity as former shipments mentioned, had sold the whole of their consignments at 17/per case, but were compelled to withdraw their offers and. as above stated, soil for what they could get. In quite a number of instances they liad to putthrough credit® of 1/- per case and the prices immediately dropped from 17/to 13/-. As, however, the shrivel and black appearance seemed to have started immediately this cargo was stored, they were compelled to accept as low as 10/- for the balance of their fruit. This is exceptionally good when one takes into- consideration .that certain other brokgrs have had to_ take as low as ; 7/- for Stunners cx this steamer. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Packing this year has been good, and no complaints have been brought (u the notice of this Department’s officers by the various people handling the fruit. Some further attention should, however, be paid to the question of weights, as one or two instances of dissatisfaction have occurred. At the beginning of the season buyers who had experience of last year’s fruit anticipated that the current season’s shipments would bo some pounds short of 40, ami in one instance a customer discussing the matter with one of the uT-okers when an officer of the branch happened to bo present, assorted that a certain case would he found to be at least 5 or 6 lbs. short. For the satisfaction oi all concerned, the broker was asked to have the case turned out and weighed and the result showed that it contained 39 lbs net weight of fruit. The New Zealand case,, as a general rule, weighs from 9-lllbs. at this end and the following shows the gross weights of several cases taken at random in the same London brokers’ warehouse. It is instructive as indicating that though great improvement has been made, there is still something to he said on account of short weight:— 120’s, 50lbs. gross; 140’s, 461bs. gross; 175’s, 511bs. gross; 210’s, 481bs. gross; 225’5, 52lbs. gross. _ : Wrapping papers. —The point has cropped up once or twice this season as to. .the advisability of using larger size

, wrapping papers for big apples. The present system seems to be to use the one size of paper indiscriminately for large and small apples. The consequence is that the protective wad is very much less in the case -of the larger fruit which does hot ; take the pressure so well and seems much more liable to bruising. Grading has not railed for any adverse comment, though in one instance of a ease from Hid Motucka district, purchased for the show windows here, it was noticed that apples from nil sizes from 3J. down to wore included in the same case. The resulting range formed a striking object lesson and opportunity was taken'' to point out- what had occurred to one or two callers interested in fruit who happened to he in this country on a visit from New Zealand at the time the shipment arrived.

Branding and marking.—The season has again demonstrated the advisability of the end boards of the cases ) being planed before the stencilling and is applied—assuming that a label is not used. The ideal method from all points of view, however, is For an attractive label to be used to cover the end of the case. This, in addition to containing the advertisement of the growers or packers, should leave sufficient space on which to include the name of the variety, the size or numbering and the grower’s shipping number. The “Better Fruit” label and the “Maori” are two packs, the get-up of which is unexceptionable, and in both instances the form of labelling is very much appreciated at this end. At the opposite end'of the scale come several other packing associations ; they use no labels and they stencil on unplaned wood. The result is that at a distance of a foot or two away the, reading is unintelligible and j one can imagine that men sent to the docks to collect consignments of such apples'would have great difficulty in picking out and collecting their own varieties. In several cases noted by Departmental officers the rubber stamps indicating the name of the variety, the shipper’s number and even the consignee’s mark had been put on hurriedly with the result that the impression was scarcely legible on arrival. Another point In this connection is that insufficient advantage isf taken of the valuable advertisement offered by an attractive label to give publicity to New Zealand apples. Anyone who knows Oovent Garden and the neighbourhood would have appreciated this point during .the current season. Lorry loads of fruit from the clocks, inland centres, etc., are constantly arriving and being despatched and the -narrow streets near the market are always more or less crowded in manner. My officers called the special attention of New Zealand visitors to the advertisement secured by apples under the "Better Truit” and “Maori” brands. At a ’distance of 50 yards or more the wording, “New Zealand Apples” stood out plainly and the bright ! colour printing gave the cases a very attractive advertisement. As a contrast might be mentioned the Excelsior brand of the Hawke’s Bay Packing Company. This, while admirable in its way, it not nearly so satisfactory from the national or the local standpoint. The only indication that Excelsior fruit comes from the Dominion is contained in a rtnall line of print towards the'bottom oif the label to the effect that' the apples were grown in “Sunny Hawke’s Bay, N.Z.” Buyers here got used to attractively packed brands, and other things being equal, are "inclined to ask for them in preference to the less attractively packed fruit. Retail fruit trader's place the oases direct on their stalls and always take care to show a nicely printed and illustrated label. South Africa takes note of this point and all her trays of pears arc conspicuously labelled and are recognisable at a glance in the shop windows and on the stalls. Oases:—The effect of wiring is again apparent and the advantage to the trade is undoubted. There have been very very few instances of cases corning' adrift this year or of ullages, and this happy result will be gratifying to all concerned. One point, .however, demands the serious attention of the shippers in connection with this season’s shipments, and that is the second and third rate quality of wood used for some of the cases this year. A large number of instances have come under the notice of the Department and it is safe to say that this year has seen more case bruising than ever has been experienced before. I am sending you by mailbox a-slat or two taken from cases purchased by this office for exhibition purposes. Inscribed on these ' are the particulars which will enable the Department to tracethe packers and bring the lesson home to the growers. Hie wood in many cases is irregular in thickness, the side hoards in some instances tapering down to not more than an eighth inch thick. In other roses bad knots arc present which renders the wood unfit for use in apple boxes. One of the worst instances noticed here was from ■largo Jonathan apples, ex s.s.j Corinthic. O'ne side of the case wa® received broken and the whole of the ivood was very thin indeed. Every apple in the case showed pressure bruises, some fruit having as many as 10. Ont of the 100 apples in the case 30 were quite useless, and of the balance only a very few were suitable for exhibition. Some of the fruit was stood out on the mantelpiece in order that the effect of the spread of the bruises could be watched and in three days the apples were more or loss rotten. In ■this instance there was no sign of brown - heart, so that the trouble ■was duo to the bad casing . entirely.

months the outside grooves disappear from the two middle one. The grooves disappear from the second pair at two year sold, and from the corner pair at three years old. All these are usually termed what are foal’s teeth, and they disappear thus—the middle pair at two year's old, the next pair at three year’s old and from the corner pair at lour years old; so that when tire horse is rising four there will be four permanent teeth and one pair of foal’s teeth—viz., tiic outside off corner pair. At live years old the horse lias a full sot of horse’s teeth—deep black spots or hollows arc plainly visible on each nipper,, at the point, at this stage. At six years- the two middle spots arc worn down, at seven years the spots on the second pair are worn down, and at eight years the spots on the two outside teeth are worn down. After that age look at the upper jaw, where the marks remain two years longer. From these the marks disappear from the middle pair at the age of ten, the second pair are worn nearly white, and at 11 the corner pair are worn to a light colour. As the horse gets older, the teeth (formerly oval-shaped) become three-cornered, and grow longer. As ago increases they project forward, and get, still longer.